Railroad-puzzle



(No Model.) 7

G. W. LURTEY. RAILROAD PUZZLE. No. 442,445. Patented Dec. 9, 1890.

Qwamwm UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES LURTEY, OF MAYSVILIIE, KENTUCKY.

RAILROAD-PUZZLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 442,445, dated December 9, 1890.

Application filed February 11, 1890. Serial No 339,998. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES \V. LURTEY, a citizen of the United States,residin g at Maysville, in the county of Mason and State of Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Impr'trvements in Railroad-Puzzles; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates in general to that class of toys which may be termed mechanical puzzles, and particularly to that form in which a railroad-track with engine and cars is represented; and its object is to provide a simple and inexpensiveform of rail-and-car joint adapted to hold an imitation engine and cars from being lost off, and yet permitting the track to be secured along its base toa portion representing a road bed, and further permitting the said engine and cars to slide along the track and to be switched from one track to another.

To this end my invention consists in the construction and combination of parts forming a railroad'puzzle, hereinafter described, and particularly set forth in the claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan view of the principal form of my invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section of the same at the line :20 .70.

5 represents a piece of thin board, which serves; as the road-bed on which the rails 6 7 8 9 10 ll are mounted.

12 represents the engine, and 14 15 16 17 the cars. The rails are all dovetail-shaped in cross-section, with the broadest face at the top.

t represents the main-lino track, and T and 8 portions of a side track.

9 and 10 represent switches consisting of rails like the other tracks pivoted to the roadbed 5, respectively, at the intersections of the side track with the main line, and 11 represents a similar switch at the intersection of the two portions 7 and of the side track. The engine and cars are dovetail-grooved to iit and slide longitudinally upon all the rails.

The device will be placed upon the market with the cars and engine scattered about on the track in an awkward and disorderly position, and the puzzle is to bring the engine and cars into aline either on the main or side track. To further complicate matters I may mark numbers permanently on the cars and engine and require these numbers to be brought into some arbitrarily fixed order. Each switch may be swung on its pivot so as to register with either one of the two adjacent rails, so that any car may be run from one rail upon a switch and then be turned to run upon another rail. 18 represents blocks permanently secured upon the rails to limit the number of carsthat each switch may receive atonee. As here shown, the switch 10 will hold two cars and each of the switches 9 and ll butone. I may in future change these proportions. I may add more rails and switches, and I may change the form of the rail to a or anv similar equivalent to a dovetail, the cars having corresponding grooves to fit the rails and form sliding joints therewith.

Any form of rail which would prevent the cars from being removed laterally from it and yet would permit the cars to slide freely thereon longitudinally, even including a dovetailgrooved rail, would be an equivalent to the dovetail form of jointdescribed.

Though an engine and cars are herein mentioned, any other objects may be substituted therefor and similarly fitted to the rails, or all may be called engines or all cars without departing from the spirit of this invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I believe to be new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, in a railway-puzzle, of a series of rails secured upon a bed-piece or road-bed and forming angles with each other, a series of switch-rails pivoted to the bed at the angles to register with either of the adjacent fixed rails, and a series of blocks representing an engine and cars fitted to slide upon the said rails, substantially as shown and described.

2. The combination, in a i'ail\vaypuzzle,of dovetail-shaped rails secured along their bot tom to a road-bed and forming angles with each other, switchuails pivoted at the ends of the secured rails and adapted to register with the ends of diverging rails, and blocks ber of cars to be admitted onto a switch may grooved to fit upon the rails, substantially as be limited, substantially as shown and doshown and described. scribed.

The combination, in a railway-puzzle, .01". In testimony whereof I affix mysignatnre in 5 a series of rails fixed upon a road-bed and presence of two witnesses.

forming angles with each other, a series of blocks fitted tovslide thereon, and switches pivoted at the ends of the mils and adapted \Vitnesses: to register with the ends of diverging rails THOS. HACKETT, 10 and provided with blocks whereby the num- VM. S. B ETTS.

CHARLES V. LURTEY. 

